Our Genetics Could Actually Be The Reason We Can’t Lose Weight

Bex Spiller2/26/2019

If you have ever spent hours down the gym or weeks prepping healthy food without losing any weight, while envying anyone skinny that never works out and eats like a horse…You’re not alone! However, new research shows that perhaps our genetics are the reason we can’t lose weight.

Our Genetics Could Actually Be The Reason We Can’t Lose Weight

PLOS Journal Research

In what is called the “largest study of its kind to date” on this subject, research published in the PLOS Journal is helping the world to learn more about “genetic architecture” of those who are skinny and those who are severely obese.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge in the UK studied the DNA of around 14,000 people, with nearly 2,000 severely obese, around 1,600 thin people, and the rest with an average BMI (Body Mass Index). They then used this data to come up with a “genetic risk score” for each person.

Girl measuring her waist

Genetically Skinny

The findings from this study are quite interesting, to say the least. Researchers discovered that there are several genetic variants which can play a part in how thin or fat you are. Those who struggle to lose weight may have a higher burden of genes that increase someone’s chance of being overweight. On the other side of the coin, those who are “healthy thin” are likely to have a lesser burden of these genes.

Our Genetics Could Actually Be The Reason We Can’t Lose Weight

Less Control Than We Think

While environmental factors, such as what we eat and whether we workout, do still play an important role in obesity, it may not be as simple as we once thought. In fact, these researchers believe that we may have less control over our weight than we think. With almost 40% of the population of America classed as being obese, this is an important step in finding out what can be done in the battle of the bulge.

More research still needs to be done into the role of our genetics on weight loss and weight gain, but at least things are moving in the direction.